


Something Borrowed

by flickerbyniall



Series: Prompts [8]
Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: M/M, another exes au bc apparently thats my thing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-02
Updated: 2018-06-02
Packaged: 2019-05-17 11:04:54
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,841
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14831096
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flickerbyniall/pseuds/flickerbyniall
Summary: Niall shouldn’t have been surprised when he got the invitation. It was his own fault if he’s looking for explanations. He was the one who wanted to keep in touch with Harry’s family after the break up after all.





	Something Borrowed

Niall shouldn’t have been surprised when he got the invitation. It was his own fault if he’s looking for explanations. He was the one who wanted to keep in touch with Harry’s family after the break up after all.

It’s not like they made it easier on him, especially with Gemma’s texts saying how _“this changed nothing between us, right?”, “we love you! You can’t just disappear”, “meet me for a coffee tomorrow?”, “Michal wants to grab drinks Friday night! Are you in?”_ or Anne’s weekend calls asking him how he’s doing or what he’s up to. But Niall was the one who answered those texts and those calls, and it made things difficult because it was almost impossible not to think about Harry or not know what he was doing.

So he decided to slowly break contact after the first year because some part of him always thought Harry was gonna come back, but the further he fed that idea, the more harm he would do to himself. And it hurt, ignoring Gemma’s texts and Anne’s calls, but he was doing it for himself. So when he found Gemma waiting for him at his loft, he cried and she held him and made him promise her he would stop pushing them away.

But it was Gemma’s wedding now, she called him the moment he liked her post of the ring in her Instagram account and they talked for hours and he promised he was gonna be there, but now with the date coming closer, he doesn’t think it’s a good idea to go. He is not ready to see Harry yet.

And the funny thing is that they tried to make it work when Harry decided to move to LA and Niall couldn’t come with him. He was just starting to work at this recording studio and he didn’t know anyone in America to even think about getting a job there. They were fresh out of college and Niall had this big opportunity in his hands, just like Harry, so they made plans to make it work.

And it was okay the first three months, the used to call each other and faced time every day, but they started to get busy and tired and they forgot about calls and texts and trips, and suddenly Harry was in his house six months after seeing each other for the last time, bringing Chinese and beer, and Niall was so happy he barely made into the loft before his lips were on Harry’s.

Niall could tell something was off, Harry’s smiles were lazy and he wasn’t laughing like he used to when Niall was telling him everything that happened since they last talked and he was hardly looking at his eyes. By the time they finished the food, Niall knew something was wrong, and when Harry said that they needed to talk, Niall just nodded and bit his lips because he knew what was coming but he couldn’t believe it.

They were together for 4 years if the two years dancing around each other didn’t count, Niall knew Harry was talking, he could see his mouth moving but he could just hear bits, like “ _it’s been a year since a left and he haven’t seen each other for six months and it’s like it doesn’t even matter.”_ It was hard enough but Harry was talking so fast and his hands were all over the place so Niall would just nod but he could already feel his eyes tearing up. He thought they were stronger than that.

“Is that what you really want?” Niall said, covering his face with his hand and when he looked up, Harry was looking at him like he already said _goodbye_. “Is there someone else?” he asked with what remained of his voice.

“No!” Harry jumped to take Niall’s hands in his. “Don’t think that. I just think it’s not fair for either of us-”

Niall stood up, shaking his head and asking himself how his life went downhill on a Saturday night. He wanted to ask a million questions, he needed to know what happened in those six months that made Harry decided to break up with him, he wanted to ask him if he was still in love with him. But the answer was obvious and he was not strong enough to handle it coming from his lips, so he just walked to his door and he opened it, looking at his shoes as Harry kissed his head and left the apartment.

He was already going to the pub with some friends from work, but in that moment he had a whole new reason to drink.

*

Niall knows coming here is a bad idea, especially when he doesn’t have a plus one because he wasted all of his time trying to convince himself not to come instead of asking someone to be his date. But it was too late, he was already sitting next to some aunt with an awful hat waiting for Gemma to make her big entrance.

So far he’s been lucky, which is not proper of him when the world seems to hate him in the worst possible scenarios with the worst timing as well, since he can remember. But in the hour and a half he’s been sitting in this lovely flower decorated chair that’s making his ass go numb, he hasn’t run into Harry or seen him, which is good because for some reason he feels on edge and his hands are getting sweatier as the times goes by. So no one can really blame him when he almost jumps out of the seat when feels a hand on his shoulder.

Niall looks up and finds a face he hasn’t seen in almost three years, so he gets up and hugs her really tight, breathing her in as she rubs his back with both hands and it feels like the old times. Niall has forgotten about this part of break ups, how you not only lose your partner but all the people you met with them.

“How you doing, salt?” She whispers in his ear, making him smile.

He pulls out of the hug and sees her dress. It’s a beautiful, long coral dress like the rest of the bridesmaids, but the flowers on her silver hair make her stand out. Niall can’t help the smile growing on his face as he holds her hands.

“Not as good as you, Lou!” he says too quickly to have thought of it before, and he wants to punch himself in the face because he should be saying he’s doing incredibly well but it’s too late, “Is Lux here?” he tries to look behind Lou but the little girl is nowhere near.

“Yeah but she’s with Gem, she’s the ring girl.” She’s smiling big and he lets her hands go when he feels them getting sweaty again.

Niall is excited for Gemma and her whole family, he knows how in love Michal is with her and they do deserve each other and a lifetime of happiness, and that’s exactly the reason he’s here, to witness them proclaim eternal love, get wasted at the bar and go home alone to cry his pathetic ass to sleep.

“Speaking of, she needs you.” Lou takes his wrist before Niall can even ask who needs him in that moment.

He lets Lou drag him out of the salon to the elevators of the nice hotel they’re having the reception, they wait till the elevator stops on the third floor before running again to the last room in the hallway. When Lou opens the door, all Niall can see is chaos. Bridesmaids are running from one side of the room to the other, Anne is in a gorgeous dark red dress talking on the phone and Gemma is right in the middle of it. The sunlight that comes through the window hits her right on the shoulders, her hair is braided up and the white dress seems to shine with every move she makes. And it’s big, long and beautiful, and when Gemma turns to him, maybe Niall tears up a little.

“Thank God you’re here!” Gemma bend forward a little to roll up the rest of her dress in her arms as she walks to Niall, “Where’s Harry?!”

Niall opens his mouth but he doesn’t have an answer for her.

“Harry?” he frowns, hearing his own voice going deeper, “Em, Gem. You know I haven’t seen him in two years.”

Gemma shakes her head, like Niall is incredibly mistaken about the events of his own life.

“No! He was supposed to go to your apartment last night,” she’s talking slowly, trying to make him understand or remember something that never happened.

“He didn’t make it last night, his flight got delayed and he landed just an hour ago.” Anne speaks behind them after finishing her call, getting closer just to kiss Niall’s check as a greeting.

“What am I gonna do? I can’t marry without Harry here, mom.” Her voice is trembling and Niall finds himself holding her hand.

Anne holds her face up the second Gemma’s starts to tear up and the four girls start running again trying to find the makeup or some tissues. Everyone is talking over each other, so no one really notices when the door slams open, except for Gemma, who takes all the hands off her and runs directly to her brother’s arms.

“I’m so sorry Gems, there was a crazy storm and I barely made it on time,” Niall steps back when he hears Harry’s voice.

Not much has changed, he’s still incredibly fit with the same gorgeous face of his but with shorter hair. The smile and the spark in his eyes is still the same, his deep voice and big hands are just same and Niall is having trouble trying to breath, just like his heartbeat rising and how fast the blood is running in his veins.

He needs to get out of the room. Gemma doesn’t need him anymore, she never did. She just wanted her brother and for some reason which he can’t figure out just yet, she thought he was with him. But her brother is right in front of her, so he can go back to his seat and wait for her in the salon like the other guests.

He’s making his way out dodging the bodies and the dresses and the heels when he hears his voice right behind him, giving him goosebumps all over his body.

 _“Niall.”_ His voice is as gentle as he remembers, and the last time he used it to talk to him, Harry was breaking up with him.

And Niall is a mess. Inside and out, if the way his hands are moving all over the place before they finally rest on the inside of his pockets tells anything. He rubs the back of his neck and sighs when he finally turns back around.

He’s wearing and impeccable black suit without a tie, a white shirt almost completely unbuttoned and a million rings on his fingers. Niall’s mouth dries instantly and he does his best to avoid eye contact, because looking at him in the eyes is the last thing he needs if he wants to get through this entire wedding without having to hide in the bathroom reconsidering every life-choice he has ever made to get him here.

But Harry’s full attention is on him, he can feel his eyes on the side of his neck like it’s _burning_ him, until Gemma starts looking for something in his brother’s pockets.

“Where is it?” She says, desperately and only in that moment, Harry turns to look at her.

“The what?” He asks, looking at Niall once more.

“Nana’s earrings? Something blue, something old, something new and something borrowed?” Gemma says, impatiently, looking at her brother like her life depends on it.

 _“Shit.”_ If it was another kind of situation, Niall would’ve laugh by the way Harry’s eyes widen when he didn’t feel anything in his pockets.

“What do you mean _shit_?! Mom gave them to you a month ago so you can have mine and Michal’s initials engraved on the back of it, that’s the new thing, Harry!” She’s furious, Niall can tell by the way her neck and her cheeks are turning red.

Harry clears his throat. “It’s at Nick’s.” He answers, looking at the floor as Gemma opens her mouth, but he interrupts before she can say anything. “He went to pick me up to the airport, I changed there and left my stuff in his guest room.”

“Oh my God.” She turns around and Anne has to stop her hands from messing up the hair. “What am I supposed to do now?!”

The room is dead silent and Niall doesn’t know what to do or say, or if he’s even allowed to leave without asking first. The sunlight is no longer warm, just a reminder that they have to hurry if they want to start in ten minutes just like it’s written on the invitation.

And maybe Lou is thinking exactly the same thing when she starts handing the bouquets to the bridesmaids and taking them out of the room, reassuring everyone that Gemma will be down in five minutes.

“I didn’t know you were this superstitious,” Harry says when the door closes and there’s only four people remaining in the hotel room.

“I’m not!” Gemma screams, finally, taking everyone by surprise. “But Michal’s mom is.” Her breathing starts going faster as she walks around the room. “What if this is a sign?”

She turns to her mom, Anne hurries to shake her head and hold her in her arms, repeating things only a mother can say in her ear. Niall knows he shouldn’t do it, not with Harry in the same room at least, but Gemma looks on the verge of sobbing and he can’t let that happen.

“I can help.” The three of them turn to him, Niall clears his throat and takes the thin bracelet he wears under his watch before approaching Gemma. “This has a little sapphire in the middle and I just changed the safety hook two days ago. So…Something old,” he says putting the bracelet on Gemma’s wrist, “something blue,” he turns the sapphire right in the middle, making it visible, “something new,” Niall closes the hook, letting her hand go, “something borrowed.” He smiles.

Gemma starts laughing before hugging Niall and kissing his both of his cheeks, Anne gives her the bouquet and mouths a _thank you_ to him before they both leave the room. With a long sigh Niall let’s out all the air his lungs have been holding since Harry entered the room. He walks to the mirror in the corner of the room, trying to fix his hair or the wrinkles in his grey suit.

“You kept it.” Harry’s whisper makes him leap, almost forgetting he’s still in there with him.

“You really think I could just throw it away? It meant something to me.” Niall says looking at him through his reflection in the mirror before leaving the room.

*

The music is loud and Niall can feel it on the tip of his fingers as he finishes his second glass of scotch. The ceremony was lovely, made a lot of people cry, the food was delicious and everyone seems to be having fun, which is good. Weddings are great, it’s an excuse to dress up and remember how lonely you actually are.

Niall was never cynical before but he can’t stay mad for too long when he sees Gemma dancing with Michal in the middle of the room with that beautiful dress of hers and is surrounded by people she loves and people that love her. He doesn’t remember ordering the drink that magically appears in front of him but takes it in one gulp anyway.

He checks his phone and decides he has one hour left before it is politely acceptable to retire from the party. Niall sighs, his hand unwittingly sliding under the space between his skin and the watch until he remembers his bracelet is no longer on his wrist. He asks for a refill, tapping his glass and he turns to look at the party. The lights are low on the dance floor, moving all around, playing together with the smoke on the floor, and it looks lovely with the people slow dancing, making his heart hurt.

Harry gave him that bracelet on their second anniversary. He said something about the sapphire reminding him of the blue of his eyes. Niall called him corny but he hasn’t taking it off since then, he feels a bit naked without it. He laughs at himself and searches for his drink next to him, but there’s no glass anymore and he’s about to call the bartender when he sees the person he’s been avoiding all night drink it in front of his face.

“I think you’ve drank enough.” Harry says leaving the glass at the bar, giving the barman a look, making him take the glass away.

“That is not remotely close to truth.” Niall says, standing up ready to leave and hide somewhere else.

“Wait.” Harry rushes to stop Niall by holding his wrist. Niall looks all the way up from his hand to Harry’s eyes, making him let go. “Gemma wants you to have this back.” Harry pulls out the bracelet from his pocket and hooks it on his wrist, caressing his hand, intertwining their fingers. “She helped me pick it out, you know?”

Niall swallows. Harry’s looking at his hand the same way he did when he gave him the bracelet the first time, and it’s a little unfair, because Niall is not a twenty-one year old kid anymore, but he feels just like it. His neck is getting hotter so he loosens his tie a little and clears his throat.

“Dance with me,” Harry whispers, rubbing his thumbs on the back of his palm, Niall tries to free his hand but Harry won’t let him. “Please,” he looks up at Niall’s eyes, “I’ll call you a cab if you don’t wanna stay afterwards.”

Niall lets the air leave his lungs in a defeated sigh, nodding and letting Harry take him to the dance floor, pretending not to notice the little smirk on his face. Harry swings him in, making Niall bumps right into his chest, placing his hands on his lower back, taking Niall’s hand in the other and putting his cheek next to Niall’s forehead.

Some Bruno Mars song is playing in the back and it makes Niall’s bones tremble, he licks his lips trying to look anywhere but Harry’s neck but his heartbeat is rising and his hands are getting sweaty. So he places his hand on Harry’s chest and rest his head on his shoulder. If he’s already here he can just close his eyes and let it happen.

Their movements are smooth just like the beat of the song, Harry pulls him closer if that’s even possible and Niall feels his lips touch the skin of his cheek but it’s not a kiss, just his open lips on his cheek, warming up his skin. And Niall gets angry because it’s unfair, not just Harry but his own heart betraying him by the way it resonates in his ears, shouting any other sound around them.

“Do you regret it?” Niall whispers, couldn’t help himself. Harry sighs.

“Every day since then.” He answers right in his ear.

“Good.”

Harry’s hand goes up to Niall’s hair, tangling his fingers in it. “You didn’t say anything.”

Niall looks up to him and for the first time in the night, he fully looks at those green eyes and all he sees is concern and sadness.

“The whole time I was talking, you didn’t interrupt me or say anything.” Harry says, looking him right in the eyes. Niall laughs, shaking his head.

“You already had a decision in mind. I wasn’t gonna try to save a one-sided relationship.” Niall smiles and Harry nods, swallowing and looking elsewhere.

They stay quiet for the next couple of songs, avoiding looking at each other, but holding onto their bodies like it was the only thing keeping them a float. Somehow, Niall felt better, it was like a big weight was removed from his shoulders, so he rests his head back on Harry’s shoulder, and he may have fallen asleep in his arms if it wasn’t for the turns Harry makes him do for his own amusement, and Niall doesn’t fight because it makes him smile and somehow, Niall lets himself mirror that smile, almost like he’s enjoying it. Harry is not shy anymore, he’s kissing Niall’s cheeks and talking to his family as they dance, telling ridiculous and exaggerated stories about them, making him laugh.

And it’s good, and light and everything feels right. Niall wants to cry and laugh and punch himself in the face because when Harry asks him if he wants to talk somewhere else, he should’ve said no so they wouldn’t be locked in the bathroom, kissing like they’re nineteen and they’re too drunk to talk about their feeling in the back of some pub near college.

Niall tries to pull out but Harry starts kissing his neck, destroying any link from his brain to his mouth.

“I thought you wanted to talk,” he’s out of breath but he can see Harry smiling from the corner of his eye.

And this is bad, the way he can’t stop his own smile or how his hands itch to touch Harry’s skin or how every rational thought has left his brain. Harry’s hands are on his waist when he kisses him again, Niall pulls his hair because he can’t contain the energy in his body any longer, and maybe he missed him too much, maybe he still loves him and there’s a lot to figure out, but the way their lips move together, how warm their skin feels when they touch each other is not something he can let go again.

But Harry’s hand starts going south, slowly rolling down his ass to grab it, making Niall moan.

“No, no, no, wait.” Niall pushes Harry away enough to rest their forehead together.

Harry opens his eyes and takes his hands off Niall, stepping back.

“I’m sorry! You’re right, let’s take this slow.” He says, placing his hands on his own hips, trying to calm his breathing.

“Take this slow?” Niall says, taking off his tie completely, “What makes you think I’m taking you back?”

Harry looks at him, the green of his eyes almost gone and his shirt is almost open. His cheeks are red just like his lips and he’s trying to fix his hair. He looks incredible and Niall is so mad.

“I hate you.” He says before diving into Harry’s arms again and kissing the surprise out his lips.


End file.
